Pages

Friday, April 20, 2012

Persian Pomegranate Soup

When I unpack 'Pomegranate Juice' from my shopping bag into the refrigerator... I told D "Son, I am going to cook something exotic ... so... please, you are not to drink this".

And of course... as teens would normally do, especially the one that is always 'Hungry' all the time.... would always want to have his/her last say....ask "What are you going to cook?'

"Pomegranate Soup' was my short answer. He gave me that 'You are kidding me' look...

This is the first time I cooked 'something' from a Novel... and not a cookbook.

Reading Marsha Mehran's Pomegranate Soup... I was drawn to the characters, story line ... but I was more into the 'happenings' in their kitchen, the feeling was surreal... the smell of chopped onions, mints, parsley, exotic spices used, a pot of soup simmering on the stove... imagine... the exotic aroma billowing from the chimney of her character's kitchen... wafting through the sleepy town in Ballinacroagh, Ireland.

Awww.... She had me at 'Pomegranate Soup'...

Hence, Pomegranate Soup it is....

I was thrilled to be able to re-create the flavours and aroma in my kitchen...
It is one of the best 'humble' soups that I have tasted... It is light, smooth and tangy with burst of flavours... and the crunch of the pomegranate garnishes just 'Seal the Deal'.
Everyone ... including my son who gave me that 'Are you kidding me' look was smitten with the soup... shhh.. ... I even licked my bowl clean

Oh .. one more thing... one of the ingredients in Marsha's Pomegranate soup is Angelica Powder. I hadn't a clue to what it was until I Googled...Angelica Sinensis to Persians and it is Dong Quay to Chinese. A 'Female Ginseng' as it benefits women health and well-being ...click here for further information.
There you go, readers... it is a healthy soup too

There are few more recipes in Marsha's Pomegranate Soup that I would love to give it a go... and perhaps blog about it..

Don't be too hard on your son as I probably would have given you a similar look. ;) The only thing I could think of when hearing Pomegranate Soup was a cold sweet soup, maybe but nothing as hearty as the actual one. Lovely, just like the presentation!

I did a quick search about the book and find it interesting that there really are recipes included!

Hehe this is brilliant - a soup from a novel :-). It's a whole new trend in literature and cooking. I don't know the novel, but the soup must be amazing, with all these flavors. I think I might try something similar.Great post, beautiful pic, as always :-)